Flexible conductor films are used frequently in consumer electronics and electronic equipment for entertainment, as well as in vehicle construction, particularly where a selective establishment of electrical contacts is desired mostly between a plurality of electrical contacting sites with highly restricted space conditions only. Flexible conductor films—which are also referred to as conductor films loose in bending—have a low weight and permit an orderly parallel extension of a plurality of separate strip conductors due to its flexible tape structure. In view of specific demands, also appropriately configured flexible conductor films are used instead of common electrical connecting techniques such as the provision of individual isolated connecting wires, which conductor films are suitable to withstand any mechanical influences from the outside, such as vibrations, without being damaged. This connecting technique has been generally adopted particularly in the manufacture of photographic cameras.
In the field of flexible conductor films, a fundamental distinction is made between two different concepts:
Conductor films in which the strip conductors extend exclusively in parallel in one direction, in a way similar to the extension in ribbon cables, are referred to as flexible flat film conductors (FFC=flexible flat cable). Film conductors of this kind are exclusively used for the electrical connection among a plurality of electrical contact sites.
In distinction herefrom, flexible printed-circuit boards may present additional electrical circuits that are projected by appropriate printing techniques onto the flexible conductor films. These film conductors, which are also known as FPC (flexible printed circuits), are provided with planar structures on the film by specific production methods.
For establishing the electrical contacts of the flexible conductor films with components such as printed-circuit boards or other electrical or electronic functional elements not only plugs but also soldering and adhesive bonding techniques are applied. In the field of the plugs, different principles are known which are each distinguished in terms of the joining forces required for attachment of the plug on the conductor film. For example ZIF plugs are distinguished from LIF plugs (ZIF=zero insertion force; LUF low insertion force), for instance, but with both plug types it is necessary, as a rule, that the insulation must be stripped from the contacting zone prior to attachment of the plug.
Moreover, plugs are known which penetrate the insulating layers provided on the flexible conductor films, thus establishing the electrical contact with the strip conductors. Such penetration-type mated connector sets, as they are often referred to, comprise contact pins that penetrate both the insulating layers and the conductor layer of the film-insulated conductors and are so bent on the underside of the conductor films in such a way that a lateral nondestructive withdrawal of the film out of the penetration-type mated connector sets is no longer possible.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a penetration-type mated connector set—known per se. The strip conductor 1 to be contacted ends on one end in the penetration type mated connector set 2 that is inserted into a housing with an upper cover plate 3 and a lower cover plate 3′. Both cover plates are articulated on each other on one side (not illustrated) so that they can be pressed against each other until they enter a closed position (which is illustrated in FIG. 1) and can be locked relative to each other via appropriate contours. The penetration-type mated connector set 2 presents a metallic contact pin array 4 between the cover plates 3, 3′, which array encompasses the strip conductor 1 via one of its lateral edges and locally penetrates through the strip conductor by means of suitably shaped contact pin structures 41 and 42. The penetrating operation is realised by means of a suitable tool, e.g. a crimping tool, which shapes the contact pin structures in an appropriate manner, as is illustrated in FIG. 1. The crimping tool encompasses the contact pins directly by passing through the cover plate 3′, on the one hand, from below and, on the other hand, from above still before the upper cover plate is closed, whilst it deforms the contact pins. Then the cover plates 3 and 3′ are joined to each other.
It is not possible to remove the strip conductor 1 laterally from the closed penetration-type mated connector set 2.
The known penetration-type mated connector set presents, however, a number of disadvantages. For instance, at least one tool is required for establishing a permanent connection between the film-insulated conductor and the penetration-type plug, which serves to realise a selective deformation of the contact pin structures. The known plug presents unprotected and freely accessible terminal contact areas suitable for being fitted into a corresponding counter plug-in element; one cannot preclude, however, that incorrect contacting may be possible, for instance by twisted joining, when the plug and the counter plug-in element are inappropriately joined with each other. Moreover, constellations can occur in which the plug contact areas may be damaged, which renders the plug-in connection system entirely unusable.
It is frequently desired to dispose plug-in contacts in optional numbers in a side-by-side relationship and one on top of the other in order to create in this manner free selectable plugging panel arrays with a predetermined dimensional stability in terms of the modular dimensions. These potential arrangements are not possible with the known plug-in connecting systems.